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Undeclared (General Education Pre-Major) Students

An Exciting Place to Be!

Many students know they are ready to attend college, but aren't ready to choose an academic major. About one-third of each freshman class at SUNY Plattsburgh enter as undeclared majors! (And about half of your peers who are declared will change their major at least once while they're in college.)

As an undeclared student, your possibilities are open, vast, and flexible. Your first-year schedule will consist of primarily general education courses that allow you to explore many disciplines until you zero in on the field that is best for you. You'll learn of topics and issues you never knew existed, and discover interests and strengths in yourself that you didn't know you had! The active exploring you do with your advisor will be an exciting part of your college experience.

Your Academic Advisor Is Here to Help You

As an undeclared major, you benefit from being assigned to a professional academic advisor. Even before the semester begins, as well as once you are here, your academic advisor will be in touch with you via e-mail to invite you to meet with her. We encourage you to respond to these invitations, as she will:

Get to know to you (your likes, interests, academic values)

Assess your current level of indecision, and

Start you off on a program of academic major exploration

During your time as an Undeclared major, your academic advisor will:

Help you to understand your degree requirements and make appropriate course selections

Show you how to use your Degree Works audit and the college catalog to keep track of your progress toward a degree

Explain and refer you to campus resources, such as information about majors and careers

Assist you in developing excellent academic habits and strategies

Address concerns you may have about your courses and college overall

Let's Get Started!

1. All Undeclared students are not the same. We'd like to know: Which one of these best describes you?

I'M PRETTY SURE: You have a really strong leaning toward a field, but want some time to dabble in it before you commit. You might say something like, "I'm 'pretty sure' I want to study [Environmental Science] but I want to take other courses to be 100% sure." OR

I HAVE A ROUGH IDEA: You have a narrowed set of majors in mind - a general direction - that you want (or don't want), but you're not sure exactly. Students come to us saying things like, "I know I want something in the business area or math, just no sciences please," or "I know I want to help people, but I don't know if teaching is for me or some other major working with people would be best." OR

I FEEL CLUELESS: You feel completely without a direction, baffled by all of your options, or liking many subjects at the same time. Students ask our help by proclaiming, "I have NO idea what I want to do with my life," or "I'm thinking about criminal justice, journalism, or information technology. Then again, medical technology and hotel/restaurant/tourism management looked pretty interesting too. And I've always loved theatre and politics."

Your advisor looks forward to helping you sift through your options with you, en route to finding a major of good fit for you. Your academic advisor will work with you to provide resources specific to you.

2. To get a start on assessing your own unique circumstances, and learn how major selection is done, check out: